Why shopping in-store will always be better than ordering online

[J.D. Lombardi]

Like many of us here (most of us?) I'm a collector of various things. These "things" (blu-rays, action figures, etc.) have become less and less plentiful on store shelves due to how popular online shopping has become.

I'm in New Jersey, just outside of Philly, so it isn't like I'm in the boonies where there is only one big-box store. There are plenty of stores and malls within an hour our of me.

My gripe - there is always a whine in there somewhere, right? My gripe is that, okay I get that I have to order most things online these days (I think Best Buys stock only what came out that current week when it comes to blu-rays now), but WHY can't the shipping be better?

Strike that, why can't the shipping even be subpar? lol Damn, whether it is Best Buy, Amazon, Target, Shutterfly...has anyone ever opened up a box from somewhere and been impressed with how their item was shipped to them?

Ebay, to me, is the only place that has folks shipping things close to what I'd hope for and that is only because those people are collectors too.

lol Post shots of your mangled deliveries here! Got a gripe with shipping? Let me hear it because I have hundreds!

How can stores mail out collectibles in boxes too large and not use a square inch of bubble wrap around said item? On Shutterfly, I create books that with a %50 off coupon still cost in the $100 and up area (I have a son who I can't stop photographing). Despite the cost, Shutterfly just tosses it into a thin cardboard mailer and off it goes. When I complain, the company simply ships a new book to me the same exact way. They don't want the old one back, which is nice, but I didn't want 2 books, I just want one perfectly sent to me.

I'm on the verge of ending a large portion of my geekdom and NOT purchasing anything I can no longer get in stores because if it is just me, I have no luck at all when it comes to shipping.

Help. Tell me I'm not alone here in this crisis !